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A three-level, high-tech golf driving range and entertainment complex is set to open this winter near the Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills, bolstering the Detroit suburb as an entertainment destination.

Topgolf — a Dallas-based company that bills itself as a "premier golf entertainment complex" and your "favorite local hangout" — announced Monday morning its plans to open a 65,000-square-foot center.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Topgolf, a premier entertainment destination, to Auburn Hills,” said Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin McDaniel. “Topgolf is the perfect complement to our entertainment district near Great Lakes Crossing Outlets."

The announcement said the $12.5 million project is its first planned location in Michigan.

In the past year, Auburn Hills lost the Pistons, which moved to Detroit and played their last game at the Palace in April. The Palace — which is nearly 30 years old — is likely to be demolished and the property redeveloped.

The Topgolf sports-entertainment project, on 16-acres along the southwest corner of I-75 and Joslyn Road, is expected to draw about 450,000 visitors in its first year, which, combined with new attractions at the outlet mall, could help make up for lost basketball games and concerts.

Topgolf aims to appeal to folks, including children, who are golf enthusiasts and those who have never played — or even own clubs. It also has been credited with helping to revive interest in the sport and changing the way people play it.

Guests playing golf at a Topgolf in Naperville, Ill. (Photo: Topgolf)

A Topgolf range is much like a traditional one, with infrared heaters when it's cool and fans when it's hot.

But more than a place to work on your swing, groups of people go there to compete by winning points for coming closest to targets that are 20-240 yards away using balls that have microchips in them. A computer keeps score.

The range, which is filled with large-screen TVs, also offers chef-prepared food and alcoholic drinks brought to customers by servers.

People who don't have their own equipment can rent clubs.

In the past few months, visitors to the MGM Grand in downtown Detroit have been able to get a sample of the technology in the company's swing suite.

As a game, golf has beenfacing a number of challenges, including consumer spending shifts to other activities, aging facilities, competition from online games — and what appears to be declining participation in the sport, in part, because of the time required to play.

Last year, while the National Golf Foundation's annual report showed that the number of golfers dropped, it also pointed out that new driving range entertainment facilities like those being built by Topgolf areincreasing off-course golf participation, according to Golfdigest.com

Topgolf, the company said, started in North London, England, by two brothers in 2000 who were "bored on a driving range."

It expanded to the U.S. in 2005, and golf-equipment maker Callaway Golf is an investor.

The company now has nearly 40 centers, with more than a dozen planned, including expansion to cities Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.

The next closest cities to Detroit where Topgolf ranges are planned are in Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh.

About 70% of the visitors, the company said, are men, although more than half of them identify themselves as nongolfers.

In the past two years, Great Lakes Crossing — which is owned by Bloomfield Hills-based Taubman Centers — added a 32,000-square-foot Legoland Discovery Center and 35,000-square-foot Sea Life Michigan Aquarium in an effort to draw more visitors.

Last year, the mall created Round 1 Bowling and Amusement, an indoor entertainment venue that features nearly 60,000 square feet of bowling, dining, karaoke, billiards, darts, ping-pong and arcade games.

The Topgolf center was approved in August and replaced a proposal for a Lowe's, according to the city's community development blog. The project, for which the company plans to hire about 500 full- and part-time employees, also is expected to spur development on the five acres next to it.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

Topgolf Auburn Hills

About: A Topgolf range is much like a traditional one, with infrared heaters when it's cool and fans when it's hot. But, more than a place to work on your swing, groups of people can go there and compete by winning points by coming closest to targets with balls containing microchips in them.

History: Topgolf, the company said, started in North London, England, by two brothers in 2000 who were "bored on a driving range." It expanded to the U.S. in 2005, and golf-equipment maker Callaway Golf is an investor. The company has nearly 40 centers, with more than a dozen planned.

There is a dome near me that is used for full field indoor soccer, softball and a driving range. It's better than nothing. I'm not too optimistic that TopGolf will be of any real value to me. I will give it a go when it opens. They originally predicted it would be open in late October but there is still nothing on their website.

It's just been announced the entertainment complex is set to open its doors on Friday, December 7, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. The three-level, 65,000-square-foot venue, located at 500 Great Lakes Crossing Blvd., is the company's 51st location worldwide.

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My Stepson and I went on a Saturday a couple of weekends ago . They told us 45min wait , we figured we would wait and check it out . The wait was less than 15min. It was fun but take your own clubs ,the clubs have so much offset they were hard to not hook. Made for practice, probably not, made for fun while still golfing definitely. My Stepson wants to have his 30th Birthday party there in March which will be fun.

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It hasn't been too cold in NC, but it has been as wet as I can remember. I have played once this week, and it has rained every day, and is supposed to rain this weekend. I've played less this winter than any winter in recent memory. Hurry up spring!

Also happening on the LPGA:
The full videos doesn't show it, but I'm wondering if Olson gave a sign or something to Jutanugarn not to mark here. Jutanugarn goes to start marking her ball, it looks like, and she looks over at Olson, motioning something, and immediately stops. This seems awfully close to the line, if not over it.
LPGA apparently deleted a tweet about this, too:
Yikes.

I chose time because a lot of people I know don't want to play because it's too long for them and they don't have the time. Also here in Canada, Quebec accessibility is starting to be an issue, probably more than in the U.S. A lot of golf course are sold to property developers and it's starting to limit the choices of course at close range. I don't think money is an issue, there is always deals you can find to play golf at a discount and other activities cost as much as golf these days.